Key Visual FILE NOT FOUND

FILE NOT FOUND

© Goethe-Institut

FILE NOT FOUND

FILE NOT FOUND - Protect archives. Defend democracy. is a collaborative project bringing together archivists, artists, and scholars to develop strategies for resilient, accessible, and diverse archival practices. At its core lies a central question: How can the archive itself become a site of resistance?

Archives, as repositories of cultural memory and knowledge, are increasingly under pressure in many countries due to populist and extremist policies. Content that challenges the narratives of these policies has been censored, reinterpreted, or deleted in some regions.

FILE NOT FOUND fosters a dialogue between various international archives, some already affected by this pressure, others operating in a grey area, and some that still feel safe.

As Germany’s international cultural institute, the Goethe‑Institut is committed to protecting cultural expression and enabling open, democratic discourse. FILE NOT FOUND reflects this mission by bringing together archives from different contexts to share experiences, raise awareness of threats to cultural memory, and jointly strengthen their resilience.

OPEN CALL

The international call for artists to take part in one out of ten on-site residencies as part of FILE NOT FOUND is open until June 7th

Our Partners

FILE NOT FOUND is an international initiative organized by the Goethe-Institut Portugal, Amsterdam and Washington, in collaboration with Gerador.

Contact

You want to get in touch with us?
For general inquiries about the project FILE NOT FOUND please contact:

Goethe-Institut Portugal
E-Mail: filenotfound@goethe.de